The present invention relates to a method of inhibiting the transmission of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
AIDS is a fatal catastrophic disease that presently infects millions of people worldwide. Although initially concentrated in central Africa and in certain high risk groups in other geographic areas including the United States, AIDS is now spreading to other areas and is appearing in individuals who are not members of the recognized risk groups. As a result, major efforts are being made to develop methods of preventing the transmission of AIDS, methods of curing AIDS once contracted, and methods of ameliorating the symptoms of AIDS. To date, however, AIDS has proven difficult to treat or prevent.
AIDS is caused by a virus. This virus has been referred to by a number of names in the literature, including HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) LAV (lymphadenopathy-associated virus), ARV (AIDS-related virus) and HTLV-III (human T-cell leukemia virus-III). For simplicity, the virus causing AIDS will be referred to herein as the AIDS virus.
It is generally known that viruses can be divided into two groups based upon the nature of the virus' genetic material. Some viruses are DNA viruses, that is there genetic material is deoxyribonucleic acid, while others are RNA (ribonucleic acid) viruses. The RNA viruses can further be divided into two groups, those in which replication of the viral genome proceeds by making an RNA copy directly from the RNA genome and those in which a DNA intermediate is involved. This latter type of RNA virus is called a retrovirus.
The AIDS virus is a retrovirus Thus, like other retroviruses, it has an enzyme called reverse transcriptase (or RNA-dependent DNA polymerase) which catalyzes transcription of viral RNA into double helical DNA. This DNA sequence is integrated into the genome of the infected cell where it is known as a provirus. Subsequent transcription of this provirus by the transcription mechanism of the infected cell produces new viral RNA for packaging into new virus particles.
Because the AIDS virus may lie dormant in an infected cell in the form of a provirus for extended periods of time, it has been difficult to establish the precise routes by which AIDS is spread. It is known, however, that AIDS can be transmitted to a person by transfusing that person with blood containing the AIDS virus. AIDS can also be transmitted to a person through homosexual or heterosexual intercourse with a partner infected with the AIDS virus. Transmission of the AIDS virus is facilitated by preexisting sexually transmitted diseases (STD's) other than AIDS, for example gonorrhea. Further, scientists suspect that the AIDS virus is spread easily during sexual intercourse due to tearing of tissue which would abet entry of the AIDS virus into the blood stream.
In response to the growing threat of AIDS transmission, the use of condoms during sexual intercourse has been suggested as a means of preventing transmission of the AIDS virus. Improper use of condoms, or their perforation during intercourse renders them only partially effective. Accordingly, there is a pressing need for a better method of inhibiting the transmission of the AIDS virus in humans during sexual intercourse and during surgical procedures on infected patients. It is an object of the present invention to provide such a method.